Looking for help picking parts

[redrob2]

Thanks everyone in advance for your help!

I'm building my Dad a cheap "stop-gap" system right now. He's got hard drives and a new burner he's going to keep. I picked up 4GB of Corsair 6400 RAM for $15 that I'll probably use in the new system as well. What I need help with are recommendations for the following parts (ideally ~$200-$300 for the following):

- Case w/ power supply
- Motherboard
- CPU (Intel or AMD)


He isn't a power user and mainly uses it for Office apps, web browsing, and sometimes he likes to play around with some cheezy video editing software. I'd ideally like to get him something with on-board video and an HDMI out since his computer is next to the TV and it'd be a nice way to play a video from his computer. I was looking at some various 780G motherboards and the Athlon x2 7750 BE, but got a little gunshy that those solutions might be a little underpowered if this is going to last him 2-3 years. He's got a P4 with 512MB RAM right now that is dead slow, so anything would be an improvement. Again, thanks for the help!!!

-Rob

 

[jpdykes]

Hi redrob,

Have a look at this thread first:
http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/page-257075_13_0.html

It is the forum "guide to choosing parts".

Stick a list up and people will give you some comments.
As a starter, see what you can find on a Intel P35/P43 motherboard and an E8400 CPU.

Jeremy

 

[shortstuff_mt]

This would probably work fine for your dad's intended use. I tried to get something around the Phenom II 720, but the affordable 780G motherboards have limited support for them without an updated BIOS. You don't happen to have an old AMD CPU you could use to flash the BIOS do you?

AMD Athlon 64 X2 7750 Kuma 2.7GHz 2 x 512KB L2 Cache 2MB L3 Cache Socket AM2+ 95W Dual-Core black edition Processor - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103300&Tpk=7750 $67.99

GIGABYTE GA-MA780G-UD3H AM2+/AM2 AMD 780G HDMI ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128382 $89.99

Antec NSK4480B Black 0.8mm cold-rolled steel construction ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 380W Power Supply - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129032 $79.99

Total - $237.97

 

[redrob2]

I was looking at the Kuma but seems like it got terrible reviews. Maybe not terrible but very lukewarm reviews. I've got an Intel E6750 right now and its great for what I do. Any idea how those two processors compare?

 

[shortstuff_mt]

The E6750 is certainly a faster CPU. Here's a couple reviews I found:

http://www.legitreviews.com/article/850/1/

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/athlon-x2-phenom,2104.html

 

[xthekidx]

This mobo will work out of the box with PII processors:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128379

PII 720
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103649

+1 antec cheap case/psu combo

 

[redrob2]

What about this ASRock board or another one from that manufacturer. They seem to have some nice and cheap boards.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157154

 

[xthekidx]

Cheap yes, I'm not so sure about nice.

 

[redrob2]

So I went for the following case and a Phenom x3 720.

Antec NSK4480B Black 0.8mm cold-rolled steel construction ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 380W Power Supply - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6811129032 $79.99

Now I need a fan. I liked the look of the Xigmatek HDT-S1283 but I'm not sure if it will fit. Does anyone know if it'll fit or have any other recommendations on a fan?

 

[xthekidx]

I think this would do nicely for you, and this is a great price on it, its actually reasonable for this cooler:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835118019